October 8, 2017

Around the Ivy League: Underdogs Continue to Find Success

On Saturday, Cornell miraculously topped preseason Ivy favorite Harvard for the first time in 12 years to come away with its first victory of the season. But the Red wasn’t the only underdog to find success this weekend, as Dartmouth and Columbia, who finished fifth and seventh in the Ivy League preseason poll, respectively, now find themselves at the top of the League standings with 4-0 overall records.

Yale 27, Dartmouth 28

When Yale traveled to Dartmouth this past weekend, it was a battle between two of the three remaining undefeated Ivy League teams. It was Yale that looked to be the dominant team to open the game, as the Bulldogs were up 21-0 at one point and headed into halftime with a 24-7 lead. Dartmouth was also without two of its best players, including reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year in sophomore receiver Hunter Hagdorn. But a five-play, 90-yard touchdown drive with just six minutes left in the game, followed by a three-and-out by the Bulldogs, gave Dartmouth the ball back after cutting the lead 27-21. Dartmouth drove the ball again, converting on a third and fourth down to keep the drive alive, finding its way to the end zone with 39 seconds remaining in the game to come away with a 28-27 victory over the Bulldogs. The Green has outscored its opponents by just five combined points in its past three victories, and the comeback was the largest in Dartmouth’s 136-year history.

Columbia 41, Marist 17

After an upset win over Princeton last week, Columbia looked to keep the momentum going as it stayed in state to take on Marist College. Columbia continued its trend of strong first half starts, building a 38-0 lead heading into halftime off the back of senior quarterback Anders Hill, who threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more to finish the day with 350 yards through the air. The win gives Columbia both its first 4-0 start and longest win streak since 1996, and was the largest margin of victory for the lions since 2010 when it defeated Princeton 42-14.

Georgetown 30, Princeton 50

Senior quarterback Chad Kanoff moved to second all-time in Princeton’s history for passing yards when he completed 25 of 29 passes for 313 yards, including four touchdowns, in a winning effort over Georgetown. Princeton once again got off to a slow start, trailing the Hoyas 10-0 in the opening quarter, but it did not take long for the Tigers to find their groove. Kanoff’s 14-yard touchdown pass to open the Tiger scoring sparked a 50-point run by the Tigers, going up 50-10 in the third quarter. After dropping last week’s game to Columbia, Princeton gained some needed momentum before heading into the heart of its league schedule.

Penn 21, Central Connecticut State 42

Penn was also a team looking to rebound after last week’s upset loss against Dartmouth, but the Quakers still looked disoriented while taking on Central Connecticut State. CCSU intercepted Penn three times, all of which were turned into touchdowns, including one returned 79 yards to the house. The Devils also went for 294 yards rushing and 473 total yards on offense on its way to a crushing victory. Reigning Ivy co-champ Penn will look to avoid its first multi-loss league record since 2014 when it travels to Columbia next weekend.

Brown 13, Stetson 17

Brown is another team in the league that has been in a slump lately and dropped its second game in a row when it traveled down to Florida to take on Stetson, a team that was 0-5 heading into the game. Both teams were able to move the ball, as Brown went for 352 yards and Stetson 326, but neither team was able to sustain drives, combining for only 50 percent conversion rate on third downs. And despite only 57 yards rushing by Stetson, it was able to edge out Brown for its first victory of the year, while Brown drops to 2-2.

Jamil Rahman is an Assistant Sports Editor for the 135th Editorial Board and a staff writer for the news department. He is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and can be reached at jrahman@cornellsun.com